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Casey Anthony: Not Guilty

Like much of America, today at 2:15 pm, Eastern, I was glued to an internet feed waiting for the judge to read the verdict.

I had pretty much figured out, because of the short time the jury had deliberated, that “Murder in the First” was not going to happen. You don’t come to that verdict in this case in ten hours. It just didn’t seem very likely.

Like many others I figured she’d get guilty of aggravated manslaughter. I was wrong.

Guilty of four misdemeanor counts of lying to law enforcement. Not guilty on all the rest.

Okay, I get it. Our legal system comes down to this. You have two teams. The prosecution and the defense. It’s kind of like chess. You try to counter every move the other team makes.

In this case I believe the defense did a much better job on the counter-offensive. They poked enough holes in the prosecution’s circumstantial evidence and handed the jury enough “Reasonable” doubt to acquit. I can’t blame the jury. They did their job based on what the two teams gave them.

The aftermath of the verdict is what is puzzling me.

I’ve been watching #caseyanthonyverdict on Twitter for the last hour or so at the rate of a tweet every 3-5/tenths of a second since the verdict. I’ve seen some of the most vile hateful comments about the jury, about the lawyers, about the judge, about the system, and the worst of the worst about Casey Anthony. I’ve seen it turned into race and sex issues. I’ve seen people literally at their worst.

Not minimizing the death or Caylee Anthony or the impact this has had on the community of central Florida, but I question how a society that can generate such emotional energy in bursts so vile and then can’t come seem to get up the energy to solve other, more disastrous circumstances facing our immediate future.

Media types like Nancy Grace and Geraldo Rivera, combined have enough media clout to really change things for the better. Yet they let their personal feelings and agendas play-out on camera and deflect from the serious issues communities and families face everyday regarding the youth of America.

Child hunger

Child abuse

Education

Health Care

Juvenile Crime

Runaway

Parental kidnapping

Childhood Obesity

Those issues aren’t sexy enough and headline grabbing enough to hold our collective attention. It takes a baby girl in Florida to be murdered, her mother the prime suspect, to grab our attention.

The sad fact is, it’s never been about Caylee. It’s been about ratings. It’s been about dishing to the public the ugliness of the evening news.

And you know… I don’t even blame them. It’s us, you and me. We have created that negative media mentality. As they say…. “If it bleeds, it leads.” Shame on us.

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I’m not shocked that Casey Anthony was found not guilty of murder because, as you said, the defense team did their job. What’s shameful is the fact that the media had so thoroughly tried and convicted her before the trial. That’s why the outbursts of hatred now. It’s unconscionable the way people are tried in the press.